VENOM

An alien symbiote with a thirst for violence and flesh, Venom started out as a living costume for Spider-Man, who thought the black-and-white threads were just that: threads. When Spidey rejected Venom’s attempts for control, he latched onto the Daily Bugle’s Eddie Brock, spawning a decades-long quest for vengeance.

Arguably Spider-Man’s biggest nemesis, Venom is the comic book equivalent of a movie boogeyman like Freddy Krueger – he’s meant to be terrifying and villainous, but readers thought he was so cool that eventually the symbiote became less obviously evil (he always tries never to hurt bystanders), appearing in his own title.

In fact, he was so neutered that not only did he occasionally team up with Spider-Man, but Marvel created an even more evil symbiote, the mass murderer, Carnage, in order to mitigate Venom’s crimes. Currently, the symbiote is not bonded with Brock, but that remains his most famous persona.

AKA: EDDIE BROCK. THOUGH MORE RECENTLY ANGELO FORTUNATO OR MAC GARGAN HAVE ACTED AS THE SYMBIOTE’S HOST

FIRST APPEARED IN THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #299 (1988)

CREATED BY DAVID MICHELINIE AND TODD MCFARLANE